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Ansar Allah Blockades the Red Sea: Context and Impact
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Introduction
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On July 20th, Ansar Allah (“the Houthis”) declared a “blockade” of Saudi Arabia and vowed to strike Saudi vessels transiting the Red Sea (1). The announcement comes one week after the Saudi-backed Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council struck Yemen’s Sana’a Airport (2) and four days after Tehran allegedly asked Houthi leadership to “close the Ba’ab al Mandeb” should United States Central Command strike Iranian electrical infrastructure (3).
Key Takeaways
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• Ansar Allah initiated a “blockade” of Saudi Arabia.
• Ansar Allah’s blockade risks closing Red Sea shipping lanes and increasing global oil prices.
• Riyadh is redirecting traffic through costlier shipping routes.
Information Cutoff: July 23rd, 15:30 GMT-5
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Background
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The Presidential Leadership Council and Abdul Malak al-Houthi’s Shi’a Ansar Allah movement have fought for control of Yemen since 2014. While the Arab League, Saudi Arabia, and the United States support the Presidential Leadership Council, Iran and its proxies back Ansar Allah (4). Saudi Arabia has intervened directly in the conflict on multiple occasions, leading to military engagements.
In 2023, Ansar Allah intervened in the Israel-Palestine Conflict by attacking US, Israeli, and UK vessels in the Red Sea. This caused global shipping firms to divert traffic around the more expensive Cape of Good Hope trade route (5). The Houthis signed a ceasefire with Washington in May 2025, bringing strikes in the Red Sea to a halt (6).
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Impacts
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The Houthis reportedly struck Saudi vessels (7), after which maritime tracking services documented a decrease in vessels transiting the Ba’ab al Mandeb. This development risks exacerbating the ongoing global oil shortage because the Ba’ab al Mandeb controls access to the Red Sea, through which approximately 12% of global trade and 9-12% of global petroleum flows (8).
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Saudi Arabia diverted its exports to its western ports to circumvent Iranian strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, meaning that Riyadh’s oil exports are increasingly dependent on the Red Sea and capped by the East-West Pipeline’s transit capacity (10). In response to the Houthi attacks, the Kingdom has transported petroleum through the Suez Canal at a higher shipping cost (11). Even still, costlier transit is expected to increase oil and gas prices worldwide (12).
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References
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- https://x.com/Nasr_Amer1/status/2079181612953280937
- https://x.com/Nasr_Amer1/status/2076769549526138954
- https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-tells-houthis-close-red-sea-gateway-if-us-hits-power-network-sources-say-2026-07-16/
- https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IN12301
- https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IN12301
- https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/HTML/IF12581.html
- https://x.com/Nasr_Amer1/status/2080044929049374810
- https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2021/may/suez-canal-and-global-trade-routes
- https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/special-topics/world_oil_transit_Chokepoints
- https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-tells-houthis-close-red-sea-gateway-if-us-hits-power-network-sources-say-2026-07-16/; https://www.mofa.gov.sa/ar/ministry/statements/Pages/%
- https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/
- https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/asian-refiners-look-suez-canal-move-saudi-oil-amid-houthi-shipping-threats-2026-07-21/; https://www.unescap.org/blog/when-strait-shakes-region-how-western-asia-crisis-rippling-across-asia-pacific-region; https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435267/ITR+Apr2026+EN.pdf/0940c942-c2c6-e5dc-e6f4-1b4392724283?t=1782814124888; https://www.iea.org/countries/china/oil; https://www.iea.org/news/strait-of-hormuz-crisis-reinforces-need-for-southeast-asia-to-tackle-major-energy-vulnerabilities; https://www.iea.org/regions/asia-pacific/oil
